


Aces

by staticrocket



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, Implied Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 06:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2841464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staticrocket/pseuds/staticrocket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In lieu of the christmas season, there's a trick up Lev's sleeve.</p>
<p>For the haikyuu!! secret santa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aces

**Author's Note:**

> so, this is a first for me, since i've never really written yakulev before. I do hope it's enough and without any terrible inconsistencies. I'm sure they exist somewhere, but hopefully not too blatantly obvious. i'm posting it here since it's finally been released.

Yaku had always known himself to be good with cards, better than Lev admittedly, since the latter never really cared to learn any tricks to show off whether or not he’s good with the sleight of hand. That’s why it comes as a surprise to him when Lev comes up to him on christmas eve, Yaku’s deck of cards at hand, telling him he’s ready to give him a surprise.

When Yaku comes to think about it, this was probably the thing he’s been scheming with Hinata for weeks. The thought makes him laugh as Lev puts the card on the coffee table, one hand pushing it to one side so Yaku could see all of them.

“Pick four cards,” Lev tells him, and Yaku amuses him by following. After getting four, Lev hands out a black marker, and, to his surprise, he tells him this, “Write on each card something that happened over the break. Something weird or something memorable.”

“And what does that have to do with this?” Lev grins at him, all childlike and playful.

“I’ll be able to guess them all.”

The idea surprises him enough to actually follow.

* * *

 

1\. The Eight of Diamonds

Lev has a system for christmas. It involves terrible lying and hiding suspicious items around the house that Yaku’s pretty sure are presents. It also involves making cards and having Hinata, their neighbour a few doors down, sing with him a couple of christmas songs. Last year, when Hinata was still new in the apartment buidling, they had thought of going carolling to earn a bit of money for presents. Yaku had convinced them to save the children from their voices.

What Yaku doesn’t get, however, is this year’s bad lies involving his own deck of cards.

He’s always been good with tricks. A sleight of hand so skilful he had thought once that, if his scholarship fails, maybe he’d just let himself be a magician. Magic tricks were always a habit, and he’s never really thought to just let it go so easily. It’s the reason he always keeps a couple of decks lying around the house. He just didn’t think Lev would be so interested in them. When they had first met, Lev had been interested, as everyone would, but he never really showed much interest in learning it. So when Yaku sees him fixing up the cards right before he enters their living room, he wonders what part of Lev’s usual christmas special will it be for this year.

2\. The King of Spade

One thing Yaku’s realised is that he’s been bringing Hinata more than usual recently. Now, he trusts Lev, has for a long while now, no matter how much he unconsciously hides it. It’s just that it can get a little unnerving, and he does admit that he has flaws - very human, unreasonable flaws - that can get to him at times. He’s not as vocal about it as Lev, whose all for being honest about what he thinks to the point that he can even add insult to injury, but he’s not one to do it consciously, either. So he reasons through his discomfort, and he trusts Lev enough to not do anything. Kuroo had told him once that Lev would never do anything to disrupt their relationship, and Yaku’s known him long enough to trust him on that, as well.

He thinks about this absentmindedly, staring at the window as the snow continues to fall. He had made some hot chocolate, a favorite traditional drink that Lev likes to uphold, and he’s letting himself relax for a while as Lev had just gone out with Hinata, apparently walking him back to his apartment while talking about something ‘particularly important’. Yaku chooses not to dwell on it.

He just lets himself drown in the peace and quiet for a while, and lets his eyes close and his mind rest long enough for him not to hear the door close quietly from behind him. He’s grateful that the mugs were on the table in front of him, not on his hand as someone puts a hand to one of his cheeks. He’s grateful that it’s not on his hand as he jumped.

When he turns, he finds himself staring at Lev, grinning gleefully. He looks so excited that Yaku has to ask why before he sits back down his seat. Lev sits next to him and embraces him with ease. He had removed his coat, and Yaku can easily feel his warmth.

“What are you so excited about?” He repeats, and Lev chuckles and buries his face on Yaku’s back, as if the open air would spill his secret.

“Something special,” Lev replies to him, and Yaku smiles fondly at him enough to find his discomfort unreasonable and childish. He chuckles along with him.

They stay like that ‘till they fall asleep.

3\. The Two of Hearts

Christmas season means a christmas break, and Yaku had taken it upon himself to get Lev to finish his schoolwork before they did anything. It lead to Lev having an abundance of free time, as compared to last year wherein he had to cram everything until the last minute, leading to a bit of guilt as the break accumulated each day that he’d procrastinate. Yaku’s thankful they both don’t have as much this year, and it had taken enough of their first week to get everything done. Lev was happy about it, as he would, and he had spent most of his time preparing gifts and decorating the apartment, to Yaku’s chagrin and slight amusement.

He brings over a cup of hot chocolate over to Lev, whose engrossed in making a christmas card for his grandmother. They had just met recently, over Lev’s first trip to Russia, and he had liked her so much that he’d wanted to learn even a bit of the language to properly communicate with her. He had never cared to learn, so he’s still sloppy at best. The happiness of meeting his grandmother, the joy of spending time with her, and how much he had talked about her upon returning to Japan, Yaku thinks it’s adorable.

“She’ll like it,” he reassures him, and Lev looks at him with so much glee and hope that makes him smile fondly at him in return. “I’m sure she will.”

Lev hugs him as thanks, and they proceed to finish the rest of the cards together.

4\. The Eight of Hearts

Sugar has never been absent during christmas. Even during the time before they got together, sugary treats has always been a part of the holiday for both of them. It’s just that Yaku has never seen this much sugar in his life.

He had just come home from the grocery store. They had finished the cards and Yaku had decided to send it while he was out to save Lev some time. Hinata was out today. It was a few days before christmas and the day had him celebrating it with someone. Lev had told him it was that person’s birthday, and that Hinata had gone and prepared for it last night with a set event comprising the entire day. Alone, with nothing to do, Yaku had thought to leave him decorating the gingerbread house. It was an idea Yaku had failed to considered would be a bad one.

“Welcome back,” Lev tells him, all covered in sprinkles, cream, and possibly more sugar. Yaku sighs, annoyed and resigned.

He helps Lev clean up, at least. The latter’s rather adamant about finishing it, though, claiming that it still needs a finishing touch, so Yaku cleans up the rest while Lev is near to completing it. He’s tied the garbage bag closed when Lev claps his hands, bits of powdered sugar that were on it scattering to the floor. Yaku almost told him off about it halfheartedly until he looked over to the gingerbread house. There were more sweets on it compared to last year, but the thing that best defines it are the two gingerbread men at the front of the house. One’s head is covered in white frosting, while the other is similarly covered in light brown frosting. Yaku guesses it’s suppose to be hair.

He’s almost about to tell him it’s great when Lev comments, “Oh, but I think your gingerbread should be smaller, since you are shorter than me.”

That earned him a kick in the ankle and more powdered sugar across his face.

* * *

 

Remembering them, Yaku had wondered whether this was all part of his plan, whether each unconventional movement that does not correspond to Lev’s tradition system for christmas was orchestrated to make him think that. Lev had told him to just describe the scene in one sentence, and he stares at the cards with his handwriting scrawled on top of them. Would Lev really be able to know each and every one?

He grins. There’s really only one way to find out.

He’s about to hand the cards over when Lev holds out one hand, the rest of the deck enclosed in his fingers.

“You’re gonna have to be the one to do this,” Lev tells him, no loss of a smile anywhere on his face. Yaku can feel the excitement radiating off him. “This is just so I wouldn’t be able to see what you wrote.”

He nods, and Lev walks him through what he’s supposed to do. Each card corresponds to something in the deck, Lev tells him, and he’ll only know which one when he follows the instructions. The first was to divide the pile into four equal piles, and to shuffle each of them separately afterwards. He does as follows, of course. The cards were easy to him, almost like breathing. Shuffling was like blinking.

“Okay, now this is the fun part.” Lev closes his eyes at that, and one hand move to cover them. “You have to bring down the cards from your deck and you have to stop when you reach the number of the card you have. Line them up by pair afterwards so I’ll know which is which.”

This makes him raise a brow. “How do you know I’ll really stop according to the number on my card? What if I just bluff?”

“I trust you.” There’s no delay in the answer, no hesitation whatsoever. The statement makes Yaku smile, a blush almost showing. He’s grateful Lev had covered his eyes.

He follows as instructed, no tricks or cheats. Lev had come up with this all month. Truthfully, Yaku had wondered if it had gone even before that. He’d prepared this especially for him, and he wants to at least see what will come out of it. It makes him wonder if Lev would really know what he had written on each card.

When he tells Lev to finally look, the latter is so excited he could hardly contain the chuckle coming out. Yaku grins at him, half challenging. While it is true that he’s talented in handling card tricks, it’s still an experience to have it done to him firsthand so he’d see if he could figure it out. It annoys him a bit that this is still as confusing as it was since the beginning.  
Lev making one loud clap makes him snap out of his thoughts. “Now,” he starts. “I’m going to guess whatever it is that you wrote on each.” He takes each of the cards that Yaku had picked and places them right on top of the corresponding cards that Yaku had taken out from the four separated decks. He proceeds to rub each one on the bottom card right before lifting them to show it to him.

Lev speaks as he’s lifting the card. The first card comes up, the Ace of Spade. “The time I hid your cards from you when you were coming back from school.”

Second, The Ace of Diamonds. “The time I came back from Hinata’s place and I came back to sit with you in the couch and we ended up falling asleep.”

Third, The Ace of Clubs. “The time you helped me make christmas cards and you saw the one for grandma.”

Fourth, The Ace of Hearts. “The time I made a gingerbread house, but I added two gingerbread men that looked like the two of us.”

Yaku doesn’t comment, but the look on his face is enough for Lev to grin widely at him. He knows the unspoken question, and he answers it with glee. “It’s cause I know you! I know you really, really well!”

Lev had always been rather clumsy, and not just with his movements. It’s everything about him, and Yaku’s known him long enough to attest to that. It’s just that his clumsiness is so endearing, and the times when it shows that, despite it, he can try, really does make Yaku remember the first time he’s thought that he does like him.

Yaku hugs him in reply, and Lev proceeds to do the same. The would’ve stayed that way for a long while if it weren’t for Yaku pulling back, apparently remembering something.

“Okay, so you’ve done your trick,” he begins, looking at all the aces. Each had Lev’s own handwriting, clumsy handwriting of a sentence that is almost akin to a paraphrase of what Yaku had written in his cards. But that’s the thing that bothers him. “So what about the rest of the cards. What about the ones I got?”

Lev responds with a face that clearly shows he had almost forgotten as well, and he moves the aces away from the bottom cards.

“That’s cause the trick’s not over yet,” Lev tells him, just as he open the cards. When Yaku reads what’s written on his cards. Surprisingly, amazingly, different from what he had originally written. Yaku chuckles all amused and worn out.

Merry christmas, says the first card, and happy holidays, says the second. The third says have a happy new year, and the fourth are three words that Lev would always say to him in the dead of the night or in the light of day. Whenever or wherever he thinks the feeling’s bursting out of him, making him split at the seams. Yaku thinks he’s feeling the same thing.

They laugh, and he’s almost at his tiptoes as he leans up to give him one long kiss. When he pulls away, Lev looks like he’s smiling so hard his face would break. They both glance at the side, one quick look at their clock telling them it’s past midnight.

The grin on Yaku’s face softens to a fond smile. “Merry christmas,” he tells Lev, reaching up to hold his cheek right before flicking his nose. It has Lev covering his nose and back slightly away as Yaku laughs to himself, all smiles and happiness.

“And I love you, too.”


End file.
